From INR 30 Shared Autos to IPL Dreams: Ashwani Kumar Aims to Be MI’s Bumrah

From INR 30 Shared Autos to IPL Dreams: The 23-year-old was the star of the show as he picked up four wickets to help Mumbai Indians bundle out KKR for 116 inside 17 overs. Ashwani's father, who owns one and a half acre land in the village, has now revealed how his son used to take INR 30 from him to travel from home to the stadium.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one tournament where talent meets opportunity. The cash-rich league has turned several youngsters into overnight stars, and the latest addition to the list is Mumbai Indians' young speedster Ashwani Kumar.

“Rain or hot sun, Ashwani would never hesitate to go to PCA at Mohali or later at the new stadium at Mullanpur. Sometimes, he would cycle to PCA academy or take lifts or would go in shared autos," Indian Express quoted Harkesh Kumar as saying.

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"I remember he would take ₹30 from me for the fare, and when he was picked up for ₹30 lakh by Mumbai Indians in the mega auction, I knew his worth was every penny. After each wicket today, I would think about those days when he would return at 10 PM after his training and again wake up the next day at 5 AM to head hack," he added.

“Ashwani would tell me and other youth of the village to reach early in the morning at the school ground no matter what and most of us would bat against him at the school ground,” Ashwani's elder brother Shiv Rana told Indian Express.

“Sometimes, he would go to other cricket grounds near the village to play for local teams and would again call us in the evening to play. He would bowl pace wearing normal canvas shoes and friends like Chahat Rana, who is now in Italy, and others would support him with cricket balls and spikes. His passion was to play cricket and make us proud, and today he has done that for all of us,” he added.

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According to Ashwani's older brother, Ashwani has always aspired to emulate seasoned campaigners Mitchell Starc and Jasprit Bumrah. He also mentioned the young player trying out for a number of other IPL teams.

Ashwani Kumar had participated in trials with the Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Chennai Super Kings.

"VRV Singh spotted his pace mind and worked on making him understand the technicalities of fast bowling. While Harwinder Singh oversees the overall programme, VRV would help Ashwani mould his bowling action and things like utilising the pace off the pitch," said Khanna.

"He attended trials for IPL sides, but he always wanted to be like Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc. His friends would pool money to get him cricket balls, and when he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh, the first thing he did was to get cricket kits and balls distributed in the academies near our village," Shiv said.

"He always used to tell me that his favourite jersey would be to wear a jersey which has his own name. And with today’s performance, he has made sure that kids will wear his name jersey," he added.

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